


I Love You, Don't You Mind

by whasupbuttercup



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 2012?, F/M, Idk what i'm doing, also, also totally not sure if i'm gonna keep the title ugh, idek if i really like this/want to continue this, im going my best ok, listen this is the first ml fanfiction i've ever wrote, lmao yikes, plz forgive me guys, thisis my first time writing fanfiction since like, what?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 09:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6653236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whasupbuttercup/pseuds/whasupbuttercup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Adrien and Marinette are somewhat good friends, and Adrien has a crush on Marinette, but Marinette has a crush on Adrien's older brother, Félix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay hi hello. So this is my first ML fic. This is my first time writing fanfiction at all in like, four years. Also, I just wrote this, and I'm like half asleep bc it's late and I'm the only one who has read over it so there might be typos. Now, as I said in the tags, I'm really not sure how I feel about this, or if I'll continue it. But I'd really appreciate your feedback!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He'd finally find a way to impress her. Something to win her over. Adrien would finally find a way to tell her how he felt, or, better yet, get her to see him the way he saw her."

Adrien was anxious for the school day to finally end. Not only was it the last day of the school week, but Nathalie had also helped him convince his father to let him have friends over (for only three hours, but still! Progress!). He was tapping his pencil on the desk when Nino reached over and took it from him, giving his friend a small shake of his head. "You're killing me with this thing, dude," Nino told him. Adrien felt his cheeks heat slightly and he gave a sheepish smile, muttering a 'sorry' to Nino and going to turn his attention back to the teacher, but not before he heard a quiet giggle from behind him.

Turning around when the teacher wasn't looking, he saw Marinette looking back at him with amusement. She didn't look at all embarrassed that he'd noticed her laugh, but god, was he. His cheeks flushed even more as he finally turned back around. Hearing her laugh distracted him enough that he no longer felt obnoxiously antsy. But he still couldn't focus on what the teacher was saying. He was sure she was describing their homework, but he'd just get it from Nino later. Adrien was imagining how the rest of the day would go. Him and Nino and Alya and Marinette would go to his house and Nino and Alya would flirt shamelessly, leaving Adrien and Marinette to talk by themselves. 

He'd finally find a way to impress her. Something to win her over. Adrien would finally find a way to tell her how he felt, or, better yet, get her to see him the way he saw her. They were friends, which he was grateful for. She had hated him at first, after everything that happened with Chloe on his first day. Now they ate lunch together (with Nino and Alya) almost every day, and they would sometimes text, and they hung out outside of school with their friends. 

Yet Adrien couldn't help but fall for Mari. How could he not? She was adorable. And sweet. And creative. And she'd do anything for anyone. When she talked to you, she made you feel like you were the only person in the world. She made his heart flutter. 

He got so lost thinking about her he didn’t even notice that class had ended until Marinette was standing in front of his desk, waving her hand in front of his face. “Adrikins,” she said, obviously mimicking Chloe. He winced at the nickname, and Marinette was obviously pleased with herself as she giggled. 

Nino and Alya looked amused as well, and Adrien could only roll his eyes. He grabbed his bag as she stood up, following his friends out of the classroom. He walked beside Nino, behind Alya and Marinette. The two girls were talking about something in hushed voices, and Mari seemed particularly excited, moving her hands about as she spoke. Adrien watched on in adoration until Nino nudged him with his elbow.

He looked at his friend, confused, and Nino shook his head at him. “Take your eyes off Mari for just a minute to pay attention to where you’re walking,” his friend told him. “You almost bumped into Kim, but he was too busy arguing with Alix to really care.” 

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, a small sigh on his lips. God, he needed to get his shit together. He spent the drive joking around with everyone, making comments and jokes about the school day they had. Mostly they talked about Alix and Kim’s newest battle, and whom they thought would win. 

By the time they’d reached the Agreste home, Adrien felt like he’d finally gotten over his nerves. They were all going to hang out. Whatever happened would happen. At least he’d get to hang out with her. Besides, Marinette seemed excited to be there, too. 

“Nathalie, I’m home!” Adrien called as he opened the door, letting his friends in before shutting the door behind them. Nathalie appeared a moment later, a young blond boy at her side. Him and Adrien looked so a like, there was no way they weren’t related. And, much to Adrien’s dismay, they were. While Nathalie gave a pleasant hello to the group, Félix just stared at them, almost looking bored. 

How the boy wished his brother wasn’t home. Of course, the older boy wouldn’t bother the friends. He thought he was above them all, and that was what got to Adrien. He loved his friends. Félix didn’t even know them, yet he’d already decided he didn’t like them, that they were silly and immature. He knew once in his room he’d apologize to his friends over his brother’s coldness, yet none of them seemed to really care.

In fact, Marinette and Alya continued their conversation. Marinette seemed excited, a deep blush on her cheeks. Alya rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help but smile at the other girl. Adrien couldn’t help but wonder what it was they were talking about, what it was that had gotten Marinette so flustered. 

“We’ll be in my room,” he said to Nathalie, purposely ignoring Félix. Félix was looking right at them, but it didn’t even matter that Adrien was ignoring him; he didn’t care. As Adrien led his friends up to his room, he just barely caught Marinette giving a small wave to his brother before falling behind the rest of them.

Marinette was too nice for her own good, he decided, an annoyed look on his face as he led his friends. Félix had maybe said, what? Four? Ten or so words to her? Yet she was still always so kind to him, smiling and waving and saying hi whenever she saw him. Adrien was still trying to understand it when they reached his room, dropping all their book bags in a pile.  
“So,” Ayla offered as they stood for a moment. “What’re we gonna do? Just stand around? Or am I gonna kick all of your asses at Mecha Strike?” 

Her words got everyone excited, moving over to play, all the while talking about how they were going to beat each other. Ayla and Nino played first, leaving Adrien and Marinette to watch, sitting side by side as they waited for their turn to play. Marinette leaned slightly closer to him, a determined look in her eyes. “In just a few minutes, I’m gonna beat you – like I always do. Are you ready, Agreste?”

He couldn’t help but grin, thought he blushed at her proximity. “Please, I’m going to blow you out of the water,” he said, though he knew she’d win. But he didn’t mind. She was adorable when she won, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "With a deep blush on her cheeks, Marinette touched the back of her head, beyond embarrassed. Félix decided then the girl was a hazard to not only herself, but probably everyone else around her as well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i still have no idea what i'm doing, but i'm trying!!! also plz do not expect me to update this often i just have a lot of motivation for this rn and i'm putting off doing work but i have my ap tests next week and finals and its all gross. but, once again, i am the only one who has read this so if i've missed any typos/mistakes im so sorry please don't hate me

Marinette had kicked Adrien’s ass a good few times before he finally gave up playing against her. 

Now he was playing against Nino, which was fun because they were both about the same level, and just when it seemed one of them was about to win, the other caught up. At least they both had somewhat of a chance, which neither of them had playing against Marinette or Alya. 

The girls said it was because they played against each other all the time, and Marinette grew up playing with her dad. Adrien could only wonder how many hours he’d have to spend playing before he got half as good as her.

Just after Adrien and Nino had finished their last game, they turned to see the girls talking to each other in hushed voices. Before Adrien could ask what it was about, Alya stood up and pulled Marinette up with her. “We’re going to go get some water,” she announced. 

Adrien tilted his head before nodding, “I’ll go with you –“ And yet, before he could even stand up, Mari was shaking her head. 

_“No!”_ His small friends abruptness confused him, and she quickly blushed and softened her tone. “We can do it. You two can stay and keep playing, we’ll just be right back, anyway.” 

He found himself wanting to argue against it, but he couldn’t see the worst that could happen. It wouldn’t be too hard for the two girls to find the kitchen, and his father wasn’t home. Félix was probably in his room, being evil, Adrien assumed, so it was likely the only person they’d run into would be Nathalie. “Okay…” the blond boy agreed after a moment, slouching slightly in his chair.

If anything, he would’ve liked to go with Marinette. They’d had the chance to talk somewhat privately a few times while Nino and Alya played each other, but it was hardly enough. They’d always get pulled into some argument, or end up cheering on their friends. He was trying to accept that he probably wouldn’t get any alone time with Marinette, but it was hard. 

Nino called to Alya to bring him back a drink, too, as the girls were leaving the room. Alya yelled back for him to ask nicely, and Adrien couldn’t help but laugh as Nino yelled back, “Pretty _please_ bring me back a drink?”

\-------------------------

Marinette expected to see more pictures of the Agreste family around the house. After all, Adrien and Félix modeled for their father. It was odd to Marinette to be in a house where there weren’t pictures everywhere. Her parents had family pictures all over the place. 

“So, girl,” Alya said, breaking the silence and pulling Marinette out of her thoughts as they walked to the kitchen. “Do you really think you’re just going to randomly bump into him? He’s probably off doing homework. Or whatever it is cool models do.” 

Marinette knew she probably wasn’t going to just bump into Félix. But if she stayed up in Adrien’s room the whole time, that probably went to a definitely, and Marinette at least wanted to see him. Even if all she would do was gawk and stutter and embarrass herself in front of him. It couldn’t be too bad with Alya there, could it? 

No, it wouldn’t be. Alya would say something charming and keep the conversation going and Marinette would find a way to say something, anything to Félix that was at least slightly comprehensible, maybe even interesting or funny. But maybe that was just her getting ahead of herself. She would focus on comprehensible, and then move on to funny or interesting. 

The two girls took their time walking to the kitchen. And it wasn’t just because Marinette thought that maybe, just maybe, if she walked slowly Félix would have time to show up, but because she was also taking in the house. It was beautiful and gigantic, much bigger than her home. But while it was amazing, it felt cold. It felt almost as if no one lived in the house, like it was all for show. 

It was only when they’d reached the kitchen that Marinette and Alya realized they’d never actually been _in_ there. The two had no idea where the glasses were kept, and it would take them forever to look through all the cupboards to find them. But what choice did they have? They did, after all, leave for drinks. 

The girls split up as they searched through cupboards, not exactly being quiet as they opened and closed them. That was how Félix managed to walk in unnoticed. He watched on in silence for a moment before finally speaking up.

“Why are you two rummaging through my kitchen?” 

Alya was just as surprised to hear the words as Marinette was, but unlike Alya, Marinette jumped, managing to bump her head on the cabinet door. 

With a deep blush on her cheeks, Marinette touched the back of her head, beyond embarrassed. Félix decided then the girl was a hazard to not only herself, but probably everyone else around her as well. 

“We – we were l-looking for cups,” Marinette told him, her blush only growing deeper with her stuttering. Alya looked as if she was watching a train wreck and couldn’t bring herself to look away. 

Félix was about to tell them what cupboard the glasses could be found in, but then decided it was better he did it himself. Marinette was only a cabinet away from where the glasses actually were, so Félix moved to stand beside her. Without saying anything, he opened the cupboard and pulled out two glasses, handing them to the girl standing beside him.

Their fingers brushed slightly as Marinette took the glasses, and she wasn’t sure if it was possible for her to blush more than she already was, but if anyone could make it happen, it would be Félix. As Félix went to shut the cabinet door, Marinette spoke up, stutter returning and all. “A-actually, we need another g-glass. For Nino.” 

And so the blond boy reopened the cabinet, grabbing another glass, holding this one out to Alya since the other Marinette's hands were full. He almost wondered if he should take one of the other glasses from Marinette and hand it off to the other girl. Marinette was clumsy. It would be less of a mess if she dropped only one glass. 

“Thank you,” Marinette told him. She was proud of herself that she didn’t stutter once, and that she even managed to look right up at him as he said it. 

Félix stared down at her, silent for another moment before he gave a nod of his head. “Of course.” And with that, he grabbed the apple that he’d came into the kitchen for, and left with a small nod to Alya as well. 

Marinette waited before she was sure that Félix was out of earshot before she grinned widely at Alya, trying to keep her excitement down. But Félix managed to hear her high, excited voice, even if he couldn’t make out what she said over Alya’s laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen i'm adrienette trash but i'm kinda here for félix and marinette. i'm also still trying to decide how i really want to write him, but i think i like what i have going right now? 
> 
> and a HUGE! thank you to everyone who has commented and given kudos and all of that you guys are fantastic and i love you <33


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Adrien looked at her more like she was the moon, or the stars; beautiful and unattainable, to be admired from a distance, but adored nonetheless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, i'm the only one who has read through this, there's probably mistakes, i'm half asleep, please forgive me. i'm walking trash. thanks to everyone who has commented/left kudos y'all are precious

Nino was fine to keep playing until the girls got back, but Adrien, on the other hand, was not. He stayed slouched in his chair, frowning to himself. Nino sighed, setting the controller down as he turned to look at his best friend. 

Adrien was a lot like Marinette, in Nino’s head. They both were typically _obnoxiously_ happy, and their hearts were too big. Both so quick to do anything for anyone, doing whatever it took to keep those around them happy. 

And yet Nino knew that Marinette, _sweet, oblivious Marinette_ , was the cause for his friends’ sulking before he even asked. 

Adrien had told Nino about his crush the moment he felt it coming on, mainly because he wasn’t sure if it really was a crush. Nino had only laughed, it being painfully obvious to him that his friend was infatuated with the girl. 

Nino didn’t blame Adrien, though he personally preferred Alya to Marinette. 

“You good, dude?” Nino asked, despite knowing the answer. 

If Adrien wanted to rant, Nino would let him. And if he wanted to pretend like everything was fine, he’d let him do that, too. 

Adrien sighed overdramatically and Nino had to physically keep from rolling his eyes. 

“Yes. No. Maybe – yes.” The blond wanted to hit his head on the desk. What was he to say, after all? That he was upset that Marinette wasn’t paying enough attention to him? That he was hopelessly into her, and she was blind?

All of it was true, but it felt petty to be upset over it. She didn’t owe him anything; she didn’t have to return his feelings. But god did Adrien wish she did. 

“It’s frustrating,” the model admitted after a moment, voice quiet as he looked up at the other boy. 

Nino gave his friend a sympathetic look. 

Alya had hinted to him more than once that Marinette was crushing on someone, and he come to the conclusion that that was why the girl was so blind to Adrien’s feelings. 

Because, honestly, what other explanation was there? Adrien was horrible at hiding it. He looked at her like she was the sun – no, you squint at the sun and look ridiculous. 

And while Nino thought the way Adrien gawked at Marinette was ridiculous, Adrien looked at her more like she was the moon, or the stars; beautiful and unattainable, to be admired from a distance, but adored nonetheless. 

Reaching out, Nino touched Adrien’s arm lightly to get his attention. When his friend looked up at him, Nino gave him a small smile. “I know it is. But if it helps, I think you’ve done good today,” he told him.

Adrien had kept Marinette laughing throughout the whole afternoon, after all. Nino was invested in the game, yes, but he’d had to be blind not to notice how teasing and close Marinette and Adrien could get sometimes.

The comment got a slight smile out of Adrien, eyes lighting up.

“You think?”

His excitement was sweet and heartbreaking all at once, but Nino pushed on.

“Of course, dude! You’ve kept her laughing all afternoon.” Nino wasn’t sure if he was being a good friend, or a bad friend. He should’ve told Adrien that Alya had hinted that Mari liked someone. But Nino couldn’t bear to see Adrien as upset as he imagined the blond would be at the news.

And worse of all, Adrien would try and pretend like everything was fine. Like he wasn’t hurt at all. Always putting others before himself. 

“And the way she smiled at you at the end of class today? Dude, you’re killin’ it.” 

The blonds smile was blinding, and Nino decided he’d done the right thing – in the moment, at least. Maybe he’d regret it later, but he’d do anything to make Adrien happy. 

Adrien was done pouting; feeling a burst of confidence in his chest that now replaced the dread from before. The boys played another game, and the blond kicked his friend’s ass in record time. 

When the two girls walked back in, the boys were arguing about the best strategy. Adrien was arguing that, considering he’d just won, he had the best strategy. 

Nino was adamant it was luck. 

Holding one of the glasses in her hand out to Nino, Alya scoffed. “If anything, you two should be asking me and Mari here what the best strategy is.” 

Nino huffed, another roll of his eyes. 

“No, because you and Mari win because of magic or something. None of the tips Marinette has ever given me makes any sense. She’s a wizard, and her magic has rubbed off on you.” 

It was Marinette’s turn to scoff, an amused look on her face as she shook her head. Resting a hand on the back of Nino’s chair, Mari laughed. “Magic has nothing to do with my skills,” she told him. “I’ve just got years of practice on all of you.”

Adrien turned his chair so he was facing Marinette, naturally leaning towards her. “What tips have you been giving him?” The blond pouted up at the girl before him.

“You’ve never given me tips before, Mari.” He was faking hurt perfectly; green puppy dog eyes catching her distractingly blue ones. 

And yet, the dark haired girl gave him no sympathy. Even if his puppy dog eyes were adorable and made her want to wrap him up in blankets and kiss his cheeks. 

“You’ve never asked,” Marinette replied simply, a small smirk on her lips.

She was right, after all. Adrien had never asked her for tips. He’d just huffed and whined about losing and how she was better than him.

Keeping his pout, Adrien crossed his arms over his chest, unable to say anything else because she had him. There was nothing he could argue; her logic was soundproof. 

The four teens were all distracted by the sound of Alya’s phone going off. Alya held her drink out for Adrien to hold while she walked over to her bag, digging around in it for a moment before she finally found it.

Pulling it out, the young journalist sighed. “I have to go home,” she told her friends. “My neighbor needs an emergency babysitter.”

Marinette was prepared to leave with her friend when Nino stood up. “I can walk you home,” the boy offered. 

Alya smirked, and Marinette couldn’t even complain. The two were so close to getting together, she felt bad ruining any chance that could finally push them together. 

Looking over, Marinette saw Adrien giving Nino an anxious smile. “I’ll walk you two out,” he said, taking Nino’s cup from him. “I need to take these to the kitchen anyway.”

Marinette wondered if she should leave, too, but before she could say anything, Adrien turned to her. “You can s-stay,” the blond boy told her. “If you want! You can stay if you want! And we can keep playing? Or you can go home. You don’t have to stay.” Marinette faintly noticed the blush on his cheeks. “It’s totally up to you.”

Taking out her own phone, she checked the time. She didn’t have any other plans, and he parents didn’t mind how late she was out as long as she was home before dinner. Maybe she could run into Félix again…or get some information about him from Adrien!

Of course, she already knew more about him than she’d admit, but Adrien was his brother. He had to know more about him, he had to know interesting quirks and habits. 

Giving a smile, she sat down in Nino’s old seat. “I can stay and kick your ass a few more times.”

While Adrien’s blush didn’t go away, a smile grew on his lips. “Don’t get cocky, Mari. That’s when people start to make mistakes.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed, looking at her for just a moment longer after she turned away from him.

As he walked over to Alya and Nino to lead them out, he saw Nino giving him two thumbs up. His blush grew deeper, and Alya rolled her eyes at her almost-ish-kind of boyfriend. 

Though Nino waited until they were out of Adrien’s room and the door was shut before he really showed excitement for his friend. Clapping a hand on the blonds shoulder, he gave a big toothy grin. “You’ve got this,” he told him as they walked down the stairs.

Alya remained silent, giving a small shake of her head as the two boys talked. When they reached the front door, Adrien told them both goodbye, a little distracted by the way his two friends hands were linked together to notice the sympathetic smile Alya gave him.

“I’ll see you both at school,” he said. “Thanks for coming over.”

They both nodded, telling him that it was fun and they should do it again. Adrien was too distracted by the fact that he literally got to hang out with Marinette alone to really focus on what they were saying. 

He had to take a minute to calm himself before he could go back up to his room. He could be alone with Marinette. They were friends. They’d talk and joke and play videogames and it’d be fun. He could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like i really need to start moving the story along so tbh the next chapter will probably be a lot longer and have more than just this cute hanging out fluff. possibly angst. i do love me some angst. 
> 
> anyway kudos and comments are sweet and i love you all no thanks for reading this trash ily guys lots <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Adrien was left standing awkwardly, still annoyed just with his brothers presence and wondering when his older brother had decided he cared about anything going on in Adrien’s life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello I'm back and trashy as ever. I'm the only one who has read this, if you notice mistakes please let me know so I can fix it!

Adrien had to take the glasses back to the kitchen before he could return to his room. He decided to use the time to psych himself up. 

He could do this. Him and Mari were good friends, or, at least, they hung out sometimes. Sometimes he could make it through a conversation without making a fool of himself.

She had even agreed to stay and keep playing video games with him after their friends had left! Things were going great, better than he could have ever hoped for.

As he walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Félix rummaging through the fridge. “I thought you had a photoshoot,” the blonde said to his older brother. 

Félix didn’t even turn to face his brother upon hearing him speak. He just kept searching through the food.

“I did,” the older of the brothers replied, even just his voice annoying Adrien. He always spoke like he was bored with everyone around him. Like he was just waiting for them to finally leave him alone. “It got moved to Thursday.”

Adrien didn’t bother to suppress his annoyance; he was supposed to have a photoshoot with the same photographer on Thursday. They were going to have to do it together. 

There was nothing Gabriel Agreste loved more than getting his sons to do shoots together. Everyone loved the Agreste brothers.

Félix, with his cool, calm exterior and then Adrien, wide smiles and bright eyes. They appeared to be opposites, and the people loved it.

“Grow up,” Félix said, turning to face his brother as he shut the fridge. 

Ignoring him, Adrien moved to place the two cups from his hand back into the sink. 

“You forgot a cup. You know how Father feels about you keeping dishes out of your room,” the older commented when Adrien didn’t respond. 

Adrien didn’t understand how his brother new how many cups he had, turning around to look at his brother as he leaned his back against the sink. 

“Marinette is still here,” he responded as way of answering, arms crossed over his chest.

As per usual, it was impossible to read Félix, as he _always_ looked bored. Except, for just a moment, Adrien thought he saw something on his brother’s face.

If Félix said anything about Marinette Adrien wouldn’t hesitate to go off on him. He had little to no patience with his brother, even if he wasn’t beyond protective of Marinette, it wouldn’t take much to push him.

“Just the two of you, then?” Félix questioned after a moment, and Adrien doubted his brother actually cared. He didn’t understand why he kept the conversation going.

“Yeah,” Adrien responded, praying to god his cheeks weren’t flushed. “We’re going to play video games for a little while longer.” 

The older Agreste simply nodded his head, looking for a moment like he wanted to say something. 

Adrien was left standing awkwardly, still annoyed just with his brothers presence and wondering when his older brother had decided he cared about anything going on in Adrien’s life.

Félix was like their father, in Adrien’s eyes. All they cared about was the family image. About keeping Adrien as perfect as they wanted him; ace Chinese, be the best fencer, and of course, be the perfect model. 

Adrien didn’t hate any of those things, in fact. Adrien liked learning Chinese, he loved fencing, and modeling could be fun at times.

It was the fact that he never really seemed to have a _choice_. Everything was decided for him all the time. 

Nathalie made his weekly schedule and his father dictated everything else. Adrien was just pulled along for the ride. 

It didn’t matter what he wanted; if he wanted to go to the movies with Nino, his dad said no. The class was all going to watch Alix and Kim’s newest fight? His dad said no. It was exhausting. 

Adrien assumed Félix didn’t have the same problem, for as far as Adrien knew, his brother didn’t have a life outside of doing whatever their father wanted. 

Félix was the perfect son. The perfect model. The perfect everything, and Adrien would never live up. Adrien would live his whole life trying to live up to the standards his brother set, and Félix would keep effortlessly pushing them higher. 

“Well,” Félix said after a moment, breaking the silence. “You better get back to your girlfriend, yeah? Don’t wanna keep her waiting.”

The younger blonds cheeks flushed as Félix called Marinette his girlfriend. How was Félix so good at picking out just what to say and do to get to Adrien? 

“That’s not – we’re not – it’s not.” Adrien stumbled over his words, the blush on his cheeks only growing. 

For just a moment, Félix gave his bother a small smile, and then it was gone. Adrien stayed still for just a moment longer before he brushed past the other boy, and out of the kitchen.

He wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d been, but he felt bad for leaving Marinette alone. 

When he got back to his room, he’d already thought of what he was going to say, but Marinette didn’t seem too bothered, doing something on her phone to keep herself busy.  
“Sorry,” Adrien started, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I ran into Félix as I put the cups back in the kitchen.” 

Marinette looked up at him, blue eyes reaching his as she gave him one of her beautiful smiles. “Don’t worry about it,” she told him, reaching up to absentmindedly touch one of the ribbons in her hair. 

“You wanna play another round?” Adrien asked, slightly unsure of what to do now. It was easy to be with her when other people were around, but now it was just the two of them, and he was at a bit of a loss. 

Marinette nodded, that smile never leaving her lips. “Yeah, sure.” 

“That is, as long as you don’t mind losing another round.” And then her smile grew, and she offered him a wink, and Adrien knew his blush was back again. 

“Oh, c’mon,” he said, amused smile on his own lips. He knew he was looking at her with wide, amazed eyes, but he was trying to act cool. Which was hard, when you’re a gigantic nerd. “Don’t underestimate me.” 

Though, of course, he managed to lose every single game they played for the rest of the night. 

But the absolute plus of the afternoon was when Adrien was walking Marinette out and she promised to come back another time and let him _try_ and win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I'm the absolute worst and I'm so so so sorry. I'm sorry I took so long to update, but I'm not gonna lie, I was really stressed for a while and I really wasn't sure where I wanted to take this fic. I'm still kinda trying to figure it out, but tbh the fact that you guys kept commenting and leaving kudos really motivated me to get another chapter out and try and finish this so bless you guys you're the best I love you and as someone who lives off the validation of others, I really appreciate your comments and kudos


End file.
